Search - Takako Nishizaki :: SPOHR: Violin Concertos Nos. 7 and 12

Inventive composer of early romantic period

Timmy | New York, Ny United States | 01/31/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Today, Spohr is a nearly forgotton composer, but in his own day, he was considered the compositional equal of such greats as Beethoven, Weber, and Hummel. He was a violinist equal to Paganini in skill, and, in my opinion, an infinitely greater composer. He may have considered late Beethoven incomprehensible, but he himself wrote music much more chromatic and modern than Beethoven's. The exciting e-minor concerto is a good example. It is dramatic, classical in form, yet romantic in its harmonies and modulations. The concertino in A-major is somewhat less intriguing, being an inherently simple piece, but is enjoyable as well."